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Pittsburgh Penguins: What to Trade for the Upcoming Season

By Matthew Rodrigopulle |
May 28, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford addresses reporters during media day before the start of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
May 28, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford addresses reporters during media day before the start of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to make some big splashes this offseason.

Coming off their second straight Stanley Cup winning season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will need to stay active in the offseason to remain competitive. I’m sure a three-peat is in everyone’s mind, and the Penguins surely will be gunning for that amazing feat.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins /

Pittsburgh Penguins

With the offseason being busy as ever, one big method of improvement is through trading. The Penguins have a lot of assets and players that are expandable. They have a lot of holes they could fix too. Although we just won the Cup, there’s always areas for improvement. So let’s take a look at a few of the trade targets the Penguins could be looking at.

Trading Marc-Andre Fleury

It’s best believed now that Fleury will be picked up by the Vegas Golden Knights in their expansion draft. Although he has a no-trade clause on his contract, he recently waived it for Vegas.

Well it seems as though the Penguins truly want Fleury out of the picture in order to free up cap space. If the Vegas Golden Knights are still hesitant to pick Fleury up, a draft pick may be included to ensure Fleury moves there.

Either way, it’s time for us to accept the fate of Marc-Andre Fleury. Trading him was step one in keeping this team as a contender.

Getting Rid of Contracts

The Penguins will be looking to free up cap space in order to re-sign the many free agents we have. We can be expected that the Penguins will try to make decisions on older players or rental players who could contribute to taking up the cap.

Draft Pick Management

The NHL Entry Draft is just days away, and the Penguins will surely be looking to wheel and deal before then. The Penguins have six picks available in this years draft, and they may want to look into shopping a few of them.

The 31st pick is interesting. A lot of teams may be wanting to take that from us. It would be nice to build up our farm, but we are still in win-now mode. We are still contenders. If we can move picks for NHL-ready players who can make us stronger, perhaps it could work out well in the long run.

Next: Penguins Draft Options at #31

GM Rutherford may be looking to do just these things. Keeping a Stanley Cup winning team in tact is a hard thing to do, and trading is just one useful method that we have to take into account.

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